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Leaders in Coronary Stent Technology To Speak About Revolutionary New Designs at CIMIT Forum at MGH

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Feb. 24, 2003-- There was a quiet revolution in cardiovascular technology and care when stents were introduced less than 10 years ago. Today they are being implanted in more than 1 million patients per year. Two leaders in coronary stent technology will discuss future innovations that can dramatically reduce the need for bypass surgery. They are slated to speak at the CIMIT Forum at Massachusetts General Hospital on Tuesday, February 25 from 4 to 6PM. Julio C. Palmaz, MD, stent designer, from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, will speak on "Nanotechnology Applications to Stent Design and Manufacturing," and Campbell Rogers, MD, Director, Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) in Boston will talk about "Key Design Elements For Drug-Delivery Endovascular Stents."

Following the talks John Abele, Founder Chairman, Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX), will monitor a panel discussion. Mr. Abele is considered to be a pioneer and leader in the field of "Less Invasive Medicine." One of his major interests is the process by which new technology is invented, developed and introduced to society.

Also on the panel will be Donald Baim, Interventional Cardiologist at BWH and Associate Director of CIMIT, and Kenneth Rosenfield, MD, Director of Cardiac and Vascular Invasive Services in the Division of Cardiology at MGH.

The Palmaz-Balloon Stent

Dr. Palmaz invented a tiny tube made from woven, surgical-grade stainless steel to help patients whose angioplasty was unsuccessful. The Palmaz Balloon-Expandable Stent is mounted on an angioplasty catheter and introduced through a thin-walled sheath into the cardiac and iliac arteries to prevent closure. Dr. Palmaz, the Stewart R. Reuter Distinguished Professor and Chief of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology, notes that with nanotechnology it may be possible to create free-formed and intricate structures that might allow microscopic and submicroscopic electromechanical systems to be incorporated in stents. This should optimize efficacy and safety - and may set the stage for a next generation of even better devices, those with more functionality and safety.

Drug-releasing Stents

Dr. Rogers, who is also Director of the Experimental Cardiovascular Interventional Laboratory at BWH and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, has had significant experience in preclinical and clinical applications of the stent. He has brought his expertise in how aspects of drug-eluding stent design alleviate scaring by delivering medication to the specific stent site. This reduces the need for subsequent procedures either of stenting or bypass surgery. Stenting has changed surgery, radiology and interventional radiology. The physicians are committed to the technologies and through the CIMIT Forum they can look to new opportunities for invention and discussion.

The CIMIT Educational Forum

The CIMIT Forum creates the opportunity for clinicians and engineers to come together, present their research findings, tell the community about a specific need, and collaborate on finding the most appropriate and efficient patient care solution.

The goal of CIMIT is to improve patient care by bringing together scientists, engineers and clinicians to catalyze development of innovative technology, emphasizing minimally invasive diagnosis and therapy. CIMIT consortium members include Partners HealthCare, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology working in collaboration with industry and government.